Living: A Yuffentine Collection
by z3ro cool
Summary: Like the title says, this is a collection of Vincent/Yuffie one-shots. Mostly set after DoC. Ratings and themes vary with each chapter; RATING HAS BEEN CHANGED TO M for latest chapter. Mostly fluff, with some implied and some blatant sexual themes.
1. Rhythm

**Rhythm

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** First chapter of the collection. Slightly inspired by the things I hear when I walk by other people's rooms in my building.

**Disclaimer: **The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

_Thump, thump, thump._

Tifa glanced up at the ceiling, wondering what could possibly have been making such a racket so early in the morning. She had just closed the bar at a quarter past two, and twenty minutes later was helping Cloud wipe down tables and clean shot glasses when the noise had started. Cloud was diligently wiping his rag across tabletops, so far off in his own world that he wasn't hearing the loud, random thumps.

"Cloud!" Tifa whispered loudly. The ex-SOLDIER looked up, blue eyes questioning.

"Yeah?" He replied. Tifa nodded her head up towards the ceiling, where the noise was coming from.

_Thump, thump, thump, thump._

"What do you think that is?" She asked. "It's been going on, off and on, for the last twenty minutes."

"…it's coming from Yuffie's side of the floor," Cloud replied, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. "Her and Vincent are up there…"

Tifa's eyes fell to the floor, embarrassed by her lack of foresight. "Oh, you're right. If they're still at it when we go to bed, we'll have to tell them to quiet down."

They went back to their cleaning in silence, though their tranquility was every now and then punctuated with more thumping from the floor above, now coupled with cries of excitement from Yuffie.

"Oh yes! You're doing so good, Vinnie!"

Cloud burst into a fit of silent laughter, doubling over and tossing down his cleaning rag. Tifa stared at the ceiling, absolutely mortified. She turned her eyes to Cloud. "We have to tell them to be quiet. The kids could hear this!"

Cloud raised his hands apologetically and shrugged his shoulders. "Aww, Teef. Sounds like they're just getting into it. Do you really want to ruin the moment?"

"Yes!" Tifa exclaimed, thinking of Marlene and Denzel who were trying to sleep at the other end of the hall. The walls in the house weren't nearly thick enough to keep such raucous noise out. "If they want to do…**that**, they can go downstairs to Vincent's room."

Their cleaning now complete, Cloud and Tifa walked up the stairs quietly, pausing every now and then to listen to the noises coming from the guest bedroom, which Yuffie had taken over and claimed as her own several months ago. Was that music playing in the background as well?

As they stood outside the door, Tifa nudged Cloud's shoulder. "You knock."

Cloud shook his head fervently. "You're the one who wants them to be quiet, you do it."

Tifa rolled her eyes. Men. She raised a hand to knock on the door, only to have it open completely when her hand touched it. She shielded her eyes instinctively as Cloud stepped to hide himself behind the doorframe. "Yuffie?"

Inside the room, Yuffie sat on her knees on the end of her bed, watching her television with rapt attention. Vincent was standing in the center of the room on a plastic mat of sorts, his heavy metal boots still on. On the television was a swirling, multicolor background that would probably make most adults vomit. On the left side of the screen were little arrows going in each of the four directions. They watched as Vincent tapped his metal boot on the plastic mat in time with the arrows reaching the top of the screen.

_Thump, thump, thump, thump._

Tifa blinked quizzically as Cloud cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What's going on? What is this?"

Yuffie looked over at them, surprised. "Oh hey, guys. Did you want to play DDR too? Vinnie's getting really good. He'd be even better if he'd take those stupid boots off. It's all about the rhythm."


	2. Fireworks

**Fireworks

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** Putting the prompt chart to good use. Set after DoC. 2/15

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Fireworks. That was how they celebrated his return.

Vincent had wandered back into Edge early in the evening, going to Yuffie's apartment a few blocks away from the WRO building. She had brought him inside and cleaned him up, so happy to see him alive and well that she didn't ask any of the questions that he knew she had been wondering. Where had he been? Why hadn't he come straight home after the battle? Did he know people had been looking for him? Did he know that **she** had been looking for him?

These questions, and subsequently his answers, were irrelevant at this moment in time. Now that he was safe at home, there would be plenty of time for those questions. Right now, she was content to sit in silence with him, which was a new feeling for her.

At the moment, he was stretched out on the sofa she had on her balcony, his head resting against her thigh. Her tiny fingers were intertwined with the metal ones of his claw, and they sat in a comfortable silence that was punctuated only be the sound of their breathing.

The fireworks began suddenly, bright red and yellow balls lighting up the sky. They went off one after another in a steady procession, with small breaks where more were being loaded. Vincent raised an eyebrow and Yuffie smiled down at him in turn. "Reeve said if you were alive, he was setting off fireworks and making a huge scene. I texted him while you were in the shower."

The corner of Vincent's mouth lifted in a slight smile. He had never wanted to be seen as a hero, and he would maintain until the end of his days that he wasn't, but it was nice to know that people cared about his general wellbeing. He rolled over onto his side and Yuffie's hand went to stroking his hair.

"I missed you, you know," Yuffie said quietly, so quietly in fact, that Vincent wondered if she had meant to say it out loud.

"I missed you too. There were…things I had to tie up. Before I could come back here," Vincent replied, matching her quiet tone. They sat in silence for several more moments, watching as the fireworks continued to light up the sky.

"Does that mean you'll stay, for once?" Yuffie asked, her voice hopeful. Of their group, Vincent was the one who visited the most infrequently. Tifa had been pressuring him indirectly for a while now to move to Edge with the rest of them. Now that he was employed by the WRO, it had to make more sense to pack up and move to Edge than to stay in Kalm – at least to Yuffie. It was no secret to their friends that she cared for the older man as more than a comrade, though Vincent himself often seemed oblivious to the fact.

Vincent remained silent, and Yuffie watched as the fireworks cast multicolored light across his skin. She squeezed his human hand gently, as if requesting an answer. Vincent squeezed hers back in turn, and let their hands stayed clasped together for a few moments longer than necessary.

"As long as Reeve won't waste any more WRO money on fireworks," Vincent replied, rolling onto his back once more to observe her expression at his announcement.

Yuffie couldn't keep the grin from creeping onto her face. Leaning down, she pressed a careful kiss to his lips. Vincent smiled into the kiss before moving his hands up to rest on the sides of her face throughout the remainder of the moment.

"Yeah, I think we've got the fireworks covered on our own," Yuffie replied.

For once in all of their time together, Vincent couldn't agree with her more.


	3. Tissues

**Tissues

* * *

**

**Author's Note: **3/15. Post DoC. Most of these are following the pattern of my other Yuffentines, where they get together following DoC, and these are just random scenes from their lives - FYI.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

He had warned her that she would catch a cold if she continued to prance around in the snow as under-dressed as she was. She had insisted that it was fine; after all, this is what she had worn through the Great Glacier on their walk to the Northern Crater. He had just shaken his head when she had lain down in the snow behind their home to make a snow angel in the foot of fresh snow that had fallen the night before.

Now she was curled up in bed, covers pulled around her as tightly as she could get them to go. She asked him to turn the heat on and get her another blanket before grabbing his hand and refusing to let it go. Vincent smirked before resting his free hand on her shoulder. "Move over."

He crawled into bed with her, silently laughing when she wrapped herself up in his arms. The skin of her arms was covered in goose bumps, though she wasn't cold to the touch. Vincent kissed her forehead gently. "We might need to make a trip to the doctor tomorrow."

He felt Yuffie's shoulders sag at the mention of the doctor. She wasn't a fan of the men in white coats, and hadn't been to see one since Tifa had dragged her off, kicking and screaming, to her last yearly check-up. She shook her head where it lay against his shoulder.

"I'm not that sick," she insisted. Vincent smirked again. Her nose was red from the amount of times she had blown it today, her eyes were extra watery, and he was almost positive that she had a fever.

He gently ran his fingers over her back, attempting to soothe her into sleep. She had tossed and turned during her afternoon nap, and he didn't think he could take a night of no sleep followed by a trip to the doctor with her in the morning. He pressed another kiss to her forehead. "Of course you aren't."

"Really, I'm okay. You'll see. We'll wake up in the morning and I'll be great. Better than great," she said, fighting to keep her voice free of the sounds of the congestion that was building in her chest. She then rolled so that she was on her side, prompting Vincent to mirror her position to maintain his hold on her.

She pressed into him, thankful for the warmth that he offered. She was so cold that she couldn't keep herself from shaking every now and then. She knew he felt it, but was glad when he didn't say anything. After a while it clearly began to bother him, because he sat up and quickly covered her back up again after he had removed himself from their bed. "I'm going to go turn the heat up and get you some medicine."

She fell into an uncomfortable almost-sleeping state while he was gone, and quickly downed the medicine he brought her when he returned. She swiftly pulled him back into bed, once again wrapping around him for warmth. She could feel the warm rush of his breath against her ear while she lay still against his chest.

"Is there anything else you need?" He asked, once again trailing his fingers over her spine. Yuffie balled her fists around the soft material of his t-shirt before shaking her head against him.

"Just you. Always you," she murmured sleepily. Vincent nodded and kissed the top of her head. Even as skilled as he was, he doubted he could've gotten out of the bed without her consent at this point.

And then she felt it, welling up in her throat. She pressed her face into his chest, trying to contain it to no avail.

"Achoo!" She exclaimed, quickly releasing her hold on him to cover her nose and mouth. He was smirking when she looked up at him sheepishly. "And tissues. I could use those too."


	4. Wrap

**Wrap

* * *

**

**Author's Note: **Number four of fifteen. I just wanted to say that the Yuffie and Vincent I'm envisioning for these are at the least, post-AC, typically post-DoC. While I personally don't mind stories that start during or at the end of the original game, I'd rather keep it non-statutory. So that's where I'm at unless otherwise specified.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Yuffie could scarcely keep her teeth from chattering as she sat perched on the edge of Tifa's sofa. It was the middle of December and snow had started falling earlier that morning. She had woken up to a good six inches of snow on the ground, and the snow was continuing to steadily fall, hours later. Of course, the heater downstairs had chosen today to take its last breath, and the house was positively frigid. Yuffie was wrapped up in several blankets in addition to the sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt she had thrown on for bed last night.

"Tifa! When's Barret coming to look at the heater?" She called down the hall to the bar where Tifa was working. Despite the freezing cold, Tifa was still hoping to open the bar tonight. Barret was supposedly coming by later in the day to attempt to fix the heater.

Tifa wandered into the lounge, hands on her hips. She too was dressed extra warm, and was wearing gloves while she cleaned the bar and completed her daily inventory. Unlike Yuffie, Tifa was trying to keep a positive face on things.

"I don't know, Yuffie. Why don't you go take a hot bath if you're so cold?" Tifa suggested before turning on her heel and getting back to work. Cloud would be coming back soon with some space heaters, and she just wanted to keep herself busy and moving until then.

The back door opened as she walked out, and a cold breeze rolled in along with Vincent, who was carrying a large, rectangular box. Yuffie shivered, even under her layers upon layers of blankets.

"Vinnie! Close the door!" She exclaimed as she buried her face in her shirt, trying her hardest to hide from the cold.

Vincent kicked the door closed and set his package in the corner before walking over to check on her. "Cold?"

She could have slapped him for asking such a stupid question, but that would have involved moving her arms out of the safe haven of her blanket pyramid. She stared at him and took a deep breath in before letting it out, creating a white stream of smoke in the air in front of her.

"I see," Vincent said as he began to unclasp his cloak. Once unhooked, he wrapped it around her, making sure to tuck the edges in close to her face so that nothing but her eyes were visible. "There, that should be better."

And it was. Yuffie had never thought that the tattered cape would provide much warmth, but she was gravely mistaken. She watched through her eyehole as he began opening the package he had brought in to reveal a small space heater.

Vincent brought the heater as close as the power cord would allow and plugged it into the wall next to the sofa. A few moments later, the machine's front began to glow a warm, orange color and heat slowly began to radiate out towards her. Satisfied, Vincent left to go see if he could do anything else for Tifa, who had her hands full as it was.

Yuffie edged herself a bit closer to the source of the warmth, and watched in dismay as her blanket pyramid fell apart. The blanket that had been wrapped around her lap became untangled and her legs felt the cool air of the room seeping in.

It wasn't as bad as it had been before, now that the heater was there. Yuffie kicked the remaining blankets off and moved to the end of the couch closest to the heater. Once there, she wrapped Vincent's cape around her and laid down to fall back asleep.

Twenty minutes later, Vincent returned to the lounge to check on Yuffie, and found her still curled up in that position, her lithe body completely wrapped up in his tattered cape, her blankets kicked aside and forgotten.


	5. Mistletoe

**Mistletoe

* * *

**

**Author's Note: **Getting in the holiday spirit with the next few additions to this collection.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Shelke sat in her usual corner of the bar, watching as everyone hurried around. She could vaguely remember back to this time of year in her own life, so she knew that this hustle and bustle was requisite during the holidays. She had been staying in Seventh Heaven for the last three months since the final battle with Omega, and it still took all of her energy to keep up with these people. She gently set her tea cup back down as the door to the bar opened and a cold rush of air mingled with snow rushed in. In an instant, the door was slammed shut and inside, rosy-cheeked from the cold, was Vincent Valentine.

She watched in mild amusement as the little girl, Marlene, ran over and wrapped herself around Vincent's legs in excitement. Shelke had noticed the softness in Vincent's eyes whenever the children were around. She watched as the older man lifted Marlene up and held her at his waist while she proceeded to tell him about all of the presents that were under the tree in the back room. Much in the same way as Barret, Vincent had the unique ability to be frightening in one instant, and calm, almost caring, in the next. Shelke stifled a smile as Marlene tangled her fingers in Vincent's long hair and gave him a tight hug before requesting to be put down.

Vincent had been staying at Seventh Heaven as well, at Tifa's request. Though he was within the closest proximity to the bar of all the barmaid's friends, he had been the least likely to visit over the last three years. All Tifa had asked for following the Omega incident was that Vincent come stay with them for a while. He had done so, not as grudgingly as Shelke had originally thought he would. Tifa had fixed him a room in the basement, where he spent most of his time. Alone.

But the bar was crowded now, with all of Avalanche coming in to spend the holiday together. Vincent was unable to spend as much time on his own as he usually did. Shelke smiled as she looked over at the older woman behind the bar. Tifa did a lot more than she was ever credited for, which now included making it impossible for the ever brooding Vincent Valentine to have a quiet moment to himself. Shelke had to stifle her laughter as Yuffie Kisaragi leapt over the stairwell railing and came to land directly in front of Vincent. Poor Vincent was still standing just inside the door and under an expertly hung bit of mistletoe. Yuffie stood staring at him expectantly.

"Well?" The ninja asked. Shelke had assumed from the very beginning that the young ninja had a crush on Vincent Valentine, and Tifa joined her in this belief. She wouldn't have put it past the other girl to have hung the mistletoe herself for just such an opportunity. Regardless of how obvious it was to the other occupants of the house, Vincent was just as oblivious to love as it appeared he had always been.

"What?" Vincent replied. His cheeks had lost the redness that he had brought in with him from the cold outside.

"You're standing under mistletoe, Vince! That means you're supposed to kiss me!" Yuffie exclaimed. Tifa had stopped her activities behind the bar to watch the pair with interest.

"I think you're the one who's supposed to kiss me," Vincent replied once more. Shelke had to contain the laughter that was threatening to leave her mouth at any moment. Did Vincent Valentine really just say something slightly humorous? "I think that's what the rules of mistletoe dictate."

Yuffie turned her head to look at Tifa, who had suddenly made herself very busy behind the bar. "Tifa, what are the rules of mistletoe? Doesn't Vinnie have to kiss me?"

Before Tifa could reply, Vincent had delicately rested his hands on the side of Yuffie's face and drawn her into a kiss. Yuffie's hands went to rest on his chest and Tifa simply raised her eyebrows in amusement and disbelief as the two continued to kiss for several more moments.

Once again, the front door opened and ushered in a cold, blustery wind from the outside. Cid stood at the door, arms filled with presents of varying sizes. He was fixed on the spot, staring at Vincent and Yuffie in an expression that mixed horror and amusement.

"What the &*$^ do you think you're &$^#*&% doing with that *)#*$# girl, Vince? And in front of the $#(%*# kids, no less!" Cid exclaimed.

Shelke shook her head, a slight smile playing on her features. She didn't think she would ever learn about normal human interaction if she stayed among this group of people. She also didn't think she minded in the slightest.


	6. Gifts

**Gifts

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** More prompt tales, this time with a Christmas theme! Happy holidays everyone.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Yuffie sat at the bar in Seventh Heaven, pen poised and ready to write. This year, the whole Avalanche family was back together for the holidays and Tifa had asked everyone to make a Christmas list so that they could coordinate and get gifts. Yuffie wanted there to be no excuses this Christmas. Her list would be the first one finished and hung up on the wall behind the bar, which was closed for the next three days, so no one would have any reason to not have her presents. This wouldn't be like last year when she had arrived late to the party and been given a collection of leg warmers, scarves, and mittens by everyone.

She put the pen on the paper carefully, and then quickly began jotting down exactly what she wanted for Christmas. She had six items already in mind, and hopefully with some careful planning, the friends that would be joining her for Christmas would get her exactly what she wanted.

'1. A Playstation 3.  
2. Assassin's Creed 2.  
3. Uncharted 2.  
4. Grand Theft Auto 4.  
5. Resident Evil 5.  
6. Tekken 6.'

Yuffie put the finishing touches on her list by adding several smiley faces to the bottom and writing her name at the top. Satisfied, she hung the list and went to grab a drink from the fridge. She was still smiling smugly when Vincent hung his list next to hers a few moments later. She peered over at it, and to her surprise, only saw a single item.

'Books', written in neat, tiny script right under his name. What a nerd. He would, no doubt, be clamoring to play her Playstation 3 on Christmas day.

Vincent was looking at her list carefully, obviously trying hard to decide which gift would be the best for him to get for her. She guessed that he would probably be giving her Assassin's Creed 2. That seemed right up his alley. She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.

"So, Vinnie. Can you make sure no one gets me repeat presents? I know you can!" She said excitedly, pulling the stoic man into a sideways hug. Vincent patted her gently on the shoulder.

"I'm sure we'll all just draw numbers from a hat for yours. Cloud and Tifa will probably pull through and get you the PS3," he replied calmly.

Yuffie beamed and squeezed him tighter. "Yes! Optimism, Vinnie, I like it! You're wonderful!" And with that, she skipped off back up the stairs to her room, singing a little jingle she had just made up. "All I want for Christmas is a PS3, a PS3, a PS3. Yes, all I want for Christmas is a PS3…"

Cid contained his laughter as he sat at a table in the bar next to Cloud, nursing a beer. He nudged the younger man with his elbow. "Say, Cloud. I got an idea on how to finally get those two together. I need your help though."

"Sure," Cloud replied idly. He hadn't been looking forward to paying for Yuffie's Playstation 3 anyway. "What do you have in mind?"

Cid leaned in close and began whispering. Cloud's eyes widened and he let out a low whistle. "You'll have to let Vincent in on this one. Otherwise he'll get mauled."

Cid shook his head. "No way, that's half the fun!"

* * *

The three days preceding Christmas passed by uneventfully. One by one, the remaining Christmas lists were put up. The Avalanche crew spent most of their time out shopping for one another, and then returned home to wrap their gifts in seclusion. On Christmas Eve, Yuffie sat next to the tree in the basement, looking over the gifts that had already been placed there. Most were for Marlene and Denzel, though there was one tiny rectangular package with her name on it from Barrett. Everyone else was keeping their gifts in their rooms until the morning.

Vincent sat in an armchair in the corner, reading a book. Yuffie hoped he hadn't already read the one she had picked out for him. It was some tragic murder mystery that would probably have him enthralled for all of the two hours it would take him to read it. She wondered what he had picked out for her.

"Goodnight, Vince!" She said as she stood. It would be time for presents faster if she just went to sleep. She walked over and pressed a kiss to his exposed cheek before walking up the stairs to her room.

Vincent looked confused, but quickly went back to his reading. The holidays sure did make people do strange things. He didn't seem to notice that he had sat under the only chair with mistletoe above it. He was, however, very aware of the faint blush that had risen on his cheeks upon being kissed.

Upstairs in the bar, the lights were turned on low. Cid crept back behind the bar and added a single line of text to Vincent's Christmas list before leaving to go upstairs, holding in his laughter that threatened to spill over at any second.

* * *

The whole house was awakened at seven in the morning by Marlene and Denzel's announcement that they were going to start opening presents. After the first yell, Yuffie quickly joined them in their mission to rouse the rest of the house. Slowly but surely, the whole gang shuffled down to the tree in the basement and placed the remaining gifts under it.

"Okay, let's let the kids open their presents first so that I can get them some breakfast," Tifa said decidedly. Yuffie could hardly contain her disdain for such an idea. She quickly sat on her hands that were threatening to reach down and begin tearing the wrapping paper off all of the presents. Across the room, Cid smirked.

Marlene and Denzel tore through their presents in record time, amassing several new movies and games, as well as a particularly interesting pair of sweaters knitted for them by Elmyra, who had remained in Kalm this year. Tifa herded the two children upstairs to feed them, and the remaining members of Avalanche began sifting through their presents.

"Ey, Spikey! I hope there's a ring for Tifa somewhere in this pile of stuff!" Barret exclaimed as he picked up a small package and passed it over to Vincent. He found another and passed it to Red before finally finding one of his own.

Cloud sat, blushing. Everyone knew that it was his intention to finally ask Tifa to marry him over the Christmas holiday. It was only a matter of when he would do it.

Yuffie had already located two presents and decimated their wrapping paper to nothing in seconds. In her lap were copies of Assassin's Creed 2 from Red, and Tekken 6 from Tifa. Not bad at all. She fumbled through the pile, tossing random gifts to the other people in the room as she came across them. She retrieved several more of her presents from the pile, opening them up to find all of the games she had asked for. Now where was her PS3?

As if on cue, Cid reached behind his chair and pulled out a large, square box. "Oh yeah, almost forgot about this one. Here you go, Vince."

Vincent looked at the package questioningly before carefully removing the wrapping paper. Yuffie's jaw dropped as she saw the unmistakable Playstation logo splashed across the front of the box. Vincent blinked several times before looking back at Cid. "Are you sure this is for me? I didn't ask for—"

"Well, sure you did! It was on your list!" Cid cried, pointing to the lists that had been brought downstairs and hung on the wall overnight. Sure enough, just below the word 'books' on Vincent's list, were three words: 'A Playstation 3', written in thick black lettering and underlined three times for emphasis.

Vincent shook his head. "That's not my handwriting, there's been a mistake."

"Yeah! That's supposed to be mine!" Yuffie exclaimed. Cid quickly stood between the young ninja and her dream machine.

"Well, I'm sure I bought it for Vincent," Cid replied. "Now sit your ass down and finish opening your presents!"

Yuffie huffed before sitting back down and digging through the pile once more. All that was left were presents for Tifa, who was still upstairs with the kids. She held her hands up. "There's nothing else here for me. Are you sure that's for Vincent?"

Cid shook his head and held up his hands. "Sorry kid, I'm sure. Gotta make sure my best friend here gets exactly what he wants for Christmas. Oh, nobody got you that PS3 that you wanted?"

"No!" Yuffie said, suddenly looking quite forlorn. "What am I gonna do with all these games and no PS3?" Her bottom lip quivered.

"Maybe you and Vincent can get together and share. It looks like he forgot to ask for games," Cloud offered.

Yuffie's shoulders slumped as she walked upstairs to find Tifa and announce her misery. Vincent was strangely silent through the ordeal, watching blankly as Cloud and Cid high-fived. He still sat with the Playstation 3 box on his lap.

Cid looked over at him. "What're you still sittin' there for? Go figure out a way to give that to that &$^&$ kid! You can thank us later."

Vincent paused for a moment before getting up and setting the Playstation box down on his chair and following after Yuffie up the stairs. Cloud cocked his head to the side.

"Why isn't he taking the box? Did he not get it?" Cloud asked in Cid's direction.

"That stupid *(&#$&*#!"

* * *

Yuffie scarcely noticed Vincent disappearing out into the night as she recapped her tale of holiday anguish to Tifa and the children over breakfast. Tifa patted her hand comfortingly.

"It's okay, Yuffie. I'm sure Vincent will share it with you. And you're both staying for a few more days, so you'll probably be able to beat at least one of those games before he leaves to go back to Kalm," Tifa said. Little did Yuffie know, Tifa had been informed of Cloud and Cid's plan.

The rest of the gang eventually came upstairs carting Tifa's presents, and sat down to breakfast while she opened them. Cloud's present was conspicuously missing from her pile, but she said nothing about it, instead smiling graciously at her friends. "Thanks everyone!"

"Teef," Cloud began, pulling up a small square package from the floor beside him. "I wanted to save this for last."

Tifa's eyes lit up as she reached for the box. As she removed the bow, the front door of the bar opened, revealing Vincent with his head and shoulders covered in snow. All heads in the room turned quickly in his direction. Cloud face-palmed.

"Yuffie, will you come outside with me?" He asked. Cid's eyes bugged out of his head. Didn't Vincent know what he was interrupting? Surely, that was one plan he had been included on.

Yuffie glanced back and forth between Vincent and Tifa before being practically shoved out of her chair and to the door by the older woman. "Go on, now," Tifa said with a smile. "I think this one can wait just a little longer."

* * *

Outside, snow was beginning to fall, which explained the snow covering the shoulders of Vincent's cape. Yuffie hugged her arms to her chest. "Vinnie, it's cold out here. What do you want?"

In one swift move, Vincent had removed his cape and draped it over her shoulders while also holding out a key to her from his clawed hand. Yuffie took the trinket from him, looking it over. It was old looking. "What's this for?"

"It's a spare key to my apartment," Vincent explained. "So that you can come play my Playstation 3 whenever you want. And so that we might spend more time together, which I have gathered was the idea behind Cid's gift-giving scheme."

"You want to spend time with me? Oh, Vinnie," Yuffie replied, positively beaming at the older man. She hadn't thought anyone but Tifa had known about her childish crush on Vincent. She all but launched herself at the ex-Turk, sending them both toppling down the front stairs and into a pile of snow. When they landed, she had fallen on top of him, snow all over her face. Wiping it away, she looked down at him. "But don't you mean MY Playstation 3?"

Some things would never change.


	7. Letters

**Letters

* * *

**

**Author's Note: **7/15. More than halfway there! For any anime fans, I'm tossing around doing something like this for Cowboy Bebop, sort of a lost episodes type deal. Get at me if you'd like to get details of that before it hits here.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content is still owned by Square Enix. I am still not making any profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Though a healthy breeze was flowing through the open windows in the dining room, the envelope on the table hadn't moved an inch, as if held down by the weight of its words. It had been sitting there for hours, ever since she had brought it in with the rest of the mail, though unlike the rest of the mail, this particular letter remained unopened. It was addressed to her in neat script, 'Lady Yuffie Kisaragi' with the sender dictated in similar writing, 'Emperor Godo Kisaragi'.

Yuffie sighed. She had been seated in this position at the end of her chair, staring at the unopened letter for the last several hours, wishing that it would just open and read itself. What she really wished was that Vincent would get home early from his mission and read it for her. She inched further off her chair and began to reach across the table for it when her cell phone started to ring.

"Ha!" She exclaimed, ecstatic about having a real excuse to not read the letter. She flipped the phone open and brought it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"…I forgot my keys. Let me in?" Said Vincent's deep, rough voice. Yuffie punched the air in triumph before dropping her phone and running down the hall to their front door, where, lo and behold, she spied Vincent through the window.

"Vinnie!" Yuffie yelled, all but throwing herself onto him. He caught and held onto her effortlessly, adjusting his hands to hold onto her better as he walked them both back into the house. Once inside, he kicked the door closed and finally looked down to admire the woman in his arms.

It had been a year since the end of the Omega incident, which also meant that it had been nine months since they had moved in together. Vincent still wasn't sure exactly when he had racked up enough good karma to be able to wake up to something so beautiful every day. He continued holding onto her, their time apart suddenly seeming unreasonably long, though it had only been two days.

From where her face was buried in his neck, he heard her murmur, "Missed you."

Vincent couldn't help but smiling before brushing his lips lightly against the top of her head. "Missed you too."

He released his hold on her and let her pull back far enough to draw her into a quick kiss before noticing that look in her eyes. Something was wrong. "What is it?"

Yuffie huffed, upset that she had given herself away so easily. "Godo wrote me. I haven't opened it. Right before you called, I was thinking about how much I wished you were here to open it for me."

Vincent scowled. Yuffie had been dreading any contact from Godo since the end of Deepground and Omega. Though Reeve was more than willing to keep her near Edge under his employ, they all knew that at some point, her father would call on her to return to Wutai, which would almost assuredly mean leaving Vincent as well. Vincent was surprised the old man had waited so long to attempt to get in touch. "Perhaps we should read it."

They made their way over to the dining room table in silence, Yuffie hanging a few feet away in the door while Vincent sat down to open the letter. It was lighter than he had imagined it would be, for something that was more than likely so important. Inside the envelope was a single sheet of paper. Vincent looked up at Yuffie expectantly.

"Would you like me to read it aloud? Or should I read it and summarize it for you?" He asked, a crease of worry taking over his brow.

"Read and summarize," she replied as she wiped at an invisible stain on her shirt.

Vincent turned his attention back to the letter, which was surprisingly informal for being sent by the Emperor.

'_Yuffie,_

_ Reeve Tuesti has informed me that things are going well for you within the WRO, and I wish to offer my most sincere congratulations. It brings great joy to our people, knowing that you are on the front lines of the effort to heal our planet. It is an important task, to be sure– so tread carefully and continue to bring honor to our great nation._

_ As is customary for a young woman of your age and status, the council has begun drafting a list of suitors. Please don't be alarmed. Though it is customary that we begin this process now, I am not expecting you to become engaged for at least another year. However; this process would go much more smoothly if you were here in Wutai to oversee it. I'm sure the WRO has efforts in Wutai that you could request to be assigned to._

_ These are only my wishes, and I would hope that as my daughter, you would do your best to grant them. I do, however, understand that this is all quite sudden and I know it will take you some time to make these plans. Please contact me after you receive this so that I might begin making arrangements for your arrival._

_Godo'_

Vincent wanted to scowl at the presumptuousness of it all, but quickly remembered that he was reading the words of the Emperor of Wutai, who was more than slightly accustomed to being granted everything he asked for. He looked up at Yuffie, whose hands were balled into fists, clenching the material of her shorts. He quickly stood and crossed the room, bringing her into his embrace as she began to cry.

"I haven't even told you what it says yet," he mused, brushing her hair away from her face. Yuffie's gray eyes were rimmed with tears that hadn't yet fallen, though several had managed to snake their way down her rosy cheeks.

"It's Godo, I already know what it says. He wants me to come home so he can marry me off to some goon who just wants to use me for my ovaries," Yuffie replied through her sniffles.

Vincent sighed at the amount of truth there was in that statement. "He does want you to get married. But he says there's a process involved and he doesn't expect you to pick anyone for another year. Says it would help speed things along if you were there in Wutai."

"No," Yuffie replied flatly. She was holding onto Vincent's t-shirt, her small hands balled up in the material. Her forehead rested against his chest while he attempted to soothingly stroke her back. "I don't want to get married or go back there, and I certainly don't want to speed things along. I just won't go back."

"Yuffie," Vincent said softly. He only spoke to her that way when she was doing childish things. She looked up at him with a new kind of sadness in her eyes.

"I'm not giving you up. I won't," Yuffie said softly as her tears finally spilled over full force. "I just got you back. You expect me to give you up just like that?"

Vincent looked at the floor, afraid that his eyes would give him away. He had known that this day would come, when she would have to choose between her country and him. He would not let his emotions impact her choice.

"Whatever you decide, I'll still love you," he murmured against her hair. The mere thought of her returning to Wutai and marrying someone else almost broke his heart on its own, but it was her decision to make. "Always."

Yuffie leaned against him for a moment before withdrawing from his embrace. The letter remained where he had left it on the tabletop. She walked over and picked it up, turning it over in her hands before placing it back into the envelope. She licked the strip of the envelope, glad when she tasted enough glue to reseal it. Grabbing a pen from a nearby cup, she wrote a few words on the front of it before setting the pen down once more. She had a smile on her tear-streaked face when she walked back over to Vincent, drawing him into a kiss.

After she had pulled back, Vincent rested his chin on top of her head, looking over at the letter curiously. In Yuffie's untidy scrawl across the front side of the envelope, it read: "Return to Sender".


	8. Daybreak

**Daybreak

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** I'm going to stop numbering these, because I have a feeling that I'll want to do more than fifteen. Feedback always appreciated.

**Disclaimer: **The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Daybreak was Vincent's favorite time of day, contrary to popular belief. People just seemed to assume that a man of Vincent's nature would find the most enjoyment in the twilight hours, and in earlier years they would have been correct in that assumption. Yes, this sudden appreciation for the early morning hours was new for him, and he didn't see himself getting over it anytime soon.

It was at daybreak that absolutely everything in his life was still, including Yuffie, who was currently pressed against the side of his chest. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was set in a relaxed smile as she lay quietly against him. Daybreak was the only time he got a chance to truly admire her when she was completely at ease with the world around her.

For the rest of the day she was a ball of pure energy and constantly in motion, even when she was lying on the couch watching television before bed. She was always wiggling her arms or legs, or adjusting her position to find a more comfortable one. Even when she was momentarily still, her mouth still moved. She always seemed to have something that needed to be said.

Only at night did she attempt to calm down, and only at daybreak was he able to fully enjoy the tranquility brought on by sleep. He enjoyed watching her slowly regain consciousness and press against him, seeking out the warmth that he so willingly offered. He loved that first hint of her being awake, when she would mumble something incoherent and wrap the sheets tightly around her all the while attempting to get closer to him.

He looked down at her now, watching with interest as she stretched her arm out across the expanse of his abdomen and let her hand rest on his side. She let out a contented sigh before murmuring something soft against the skin of his chest. Vincent gently reached his hand down to stroke her hair away from her face. Satisfied that she was now more comfortable, he let his hand wander to hers, intertwining their fingers.

"Morning," Yuffie whispered softly, dropping a light kiss to his collarbone.

"It is," Vincent replied, eliciting a light laugh from her, though it was his response to her on most mornings. He rolled onto his side, moving to wrap her in his arms while she woke. Yuffie curled up in those arms contentedly, moving her hands up to cup his face and bring him into a tender kiss.

And in an instant, she was up and out of the bed, taking the sheet with her as she wandered over to the dresser to grab her clothes for the day. Vincent watched her amusedly, though suddenly missing the warmth that both she and the blankets had been providing his nude body with.

Yuffie looked over her shoulder at him, eyebrow raised suggestively as she stood in the doorway to the bathroom, clothes in one hand. She dramatically dropped the sheet that she had taken, letting it fall to the floor before she spoke. "Keep me company?"

Not waiting for his reply, she walked into the bathroom. Vincent sat up, resting back on his elbows as he listened to the sound of the shower starting. He smiled as he stood up, wandering over to the bathroom door. This was just another reason he enjoyed daybreak.

* * *

**A/N: **Please review if you made it this far. I get so many hits on these, and the number of reviews is so low. Thanks if you have been reviewing thus far! I'm going to be updating this with multiple chapters at once for the next week. I've got a lot already written, and my internet connection at home is not so good, so whenever I get the chance to upload, you'll get everything I've got.


	9. Forget

**Forget

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** Yep, definitely not numbering these anymore. I have a request: requests! I'm trying to save some of these prompt ideas for days when I'm feeling a little more creative, since they only give me one word to go off of. So in your next review or message (whichever you prefer), leave an idea for an upcoming chapter. I promise I will do every one of them that I get.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

She was so angry with him. What good was having a phone when you never answered it, or returned people's messages? He would always say that it was useless to call her back when he was already on his way home. He didn't seem to understand that it wasn't the conversation that really mattered to her, but being able to hear his voice.

It was like this every time he left on a mission without her, which had been much more frequent as of late. He would give her a time frame – say, three or four days – and then he would be gone. She would call him twice a day, usually when she woke up and before she went to bed. Those were the times of day that she missed his company the most, and would have enjoyed being able to speak to him the most. But he would never answer.

At first she had told herself that wherever he was, he probably didn't have a signal, or perhaps hadn't been able to charge his phone since he had left and the battery had died. Then she would begin to worry. Maybe he had gotten into trouble and had lost his phone. Maybe he was hurt and unable to press the 'answer' button.

And yet, he would always return within a day of the time frame he had given her, just as flawless and unscathed as when he had left. Most days she would wait up for him, unable to sleep from the worry. Tonight was different.

After a year together, she thought he would start to understand. That maybe, just maybe, he would start taking the time to take just one of her calls while he was away. Only for a moment, just to give her a minute of his time to tell him that she missed and loved him. But he didn't. Perhaps they were finally starting to grow apart.

She knew all of their friends were waiting for it with baited breaths – the day when they would go their separate ways. They were, after all, complete opposites. And how long could opposites be expected to stay together? She preferred the day while he preferred the night. She was loud while he was quiet. They argued like children over the tiniest of things. And despite all that, she was still completely in love with him.

She was lying in the bed they had been sharing for the last year, clad in nothing but one of his t-shirts and her underwear. The clock beside the bed read 2:45am. The house was relatively quiet tonight; all she could hear was the sound of the fan she had forgotten to turn off in the kitchen. She groaned – that fan was going to wear at her nerves all night if she didn't turn it off.

She slipped out of bed silently, walking out of their bedroom and into the adjacent kitchen. She walked across the room, reaching up above the stove to turn the fan off, not noticing the dark figure standing still in the shadows of the dining room. She let out a sigh, turning and walking back into the darkened bedroom. The figure followed suit, its footfalls silent on the wood floor. She had crawled back in bed and was staring up at the ceiling when a sudden glint of metal in the doorway caught her attention.

"You're back early," she remarked, moving her hand to indicate the clock on the nightstand. She rolled over to give him space to lay next to her, though not too much space – she felt that he owed her a little bit of closeness tonight.

"I missed you," he replied simply. She watched as he began to strip. His cape was tossed over a chair in the corner. In a single movement, he had detached and dropped the claw gauntlet to the floor. His shirt was next to go, finding its way onto the floor next to his claw, followed quickly by his pants, which hit the floor with a thud from the heavy metal buckles that circled his hips. She smirked. Of course, _the_ Vincent Valentine (she mentally twirled herself in a circle and swirled an invisible cape) wouldn't wear underwear.

He slid into bed quietly, pulling the sheets up to his thin hips before leaning over to kiss her. At the last second, she turned her head, watching in amusement as his lips found her cheek.

"You didn't answer any of my calls," she whispered, rolling over on her side to face him. Though she was aching to touch him and assure herself that he was indeed real and here, she held back, remembering how angry she was with him. "I was worried."

"I know," he whispered back. He reached a tentative hand out to stroke her hair away from where it had fallen in her face. Satisfied, he let his hand drop down to the curve of her hip, where he held as he gently tried to pull her closer.

Yuffie pulled back, grabbing his hand and removing it. "So that's it? You know that I worry about you, and you just don't care? You won't do anything to make me feel better? Gods, Vince. All I want is a minute of your time just to make sure you're okay. Is that so much to ask?"

He sighed, knowing that this argument had been building up over the last year. "I can't die. There's really nothing to be worried about."

"Fine," she said softly, rolling over and putting a good foot of space between the two of them. "Goodnight, Vincent."

They lay in silence for a few minutes, Yuffie staring off at the wall ahead of her, Vincent staring at her back. It didn't take long for the tears that had been welling up in her eyes to come falling out.

"Do you still love me?" She asked, still maintaining her view of the wall. Much to her dismay, Vincent had heard the sound of tears in her voice and was then pressed against her back, arms wrapping around her tightly.

"I've never stopped," he murmured against the back of her neck, his warm breath raising goose bumps there. "Not once. And I won't, ever."

Yuffie rolled over, forcing her anger aside long enough to press herself into him, suddenly savoring the comfort that he offered. "I just don't understand you. At all," she whispered, letting her arm curl around his abdomen.

"I don't want to associate you and this with the things I do while I'm working. That's why I never answer," he replied. He rolled slightly, moving her onto her back. He kept his weight pressed into her, satisfied when she met his eyes once more. "But I appreciate your messages. They remind me of what I need to get back to."

Yuffie didn't turn away when he leaned down to capture her lips, instead gently opening her mouth to give him more access. One of his hands moved down to the hem of her shirt, gently lifting it up. She broke their kiss to take it off, and promptly pulled him back down to her.

Hours later, she was resting soundly underneath him. He had fallen asleep first for once, letting his head fall to rest against her chest. His back rose and fell with each breath as she dragged a steady hand through his hair, her earlier anger now blissfully forgotten.


	10. Touch

**Touch

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** This one actually doesn't follow my typical post-DoC, getting together after Vincent comes back timeline. This one is post-DoC, but Vincent hasn't returned yet. Partially inspired by Bella's nightmare-waking sequences from New Moon (sorry all you non-Twilight fans). Happy reading!

**Disclaimer: **The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Contrary to what Red and Cid had told her, the nightmares didn't stop with time. It was a week after her brief scuffle with Nero, and she still woke screaming in the night, plagued by dreams of nothing but empty blackness, with no one there to save her. Each night, Tifa would come rushing into the room to be with her and calm her as she woke, but the effects of her dreams would last long after the older woman had left her side.

Tifa would stay long enough to make sure she was settled, and she would offer to stay the night, which Yuffie always declined. She would settle back against her pillows and lie awake until around six in the morning, when Cloud would pop his head into the room to check on her at Tifa's request. Only then would she close her eyes, and only for a few moments until she was sure he was gone. Then she would open them and stare up at the ceiling again until the other people in the house began to wake up and make their way downstairs.

Yuffie knew her sleeping charade wouldn't last much longer. The effects of not sleeping were beginning to show on her face, casting deep purple shadows under her eyes that foundation couldn't cover. Yet she couldn't bring herself to sleep, knowing that the same dream would plague her over and over again.

It always began the same, with a bright, brief flash of light – and then she was plunged into nothingness. No matter how much she cried or how loud she screamed, there was nothing – no one to hear her or save her. In some of the darker dreams, she would see him there, just out of her reach. Though she always tried to speak to him in her dream, to thank him for saving her, for caring enough, he would never answer. He would stare at her blankly before disappearing into the blackness, leaving her alone once again.

_Vincent._ He still hadn't been found, though the young girl, Shelke, claimed that he was alive and well – that it would take much more than all this to kill Vincent Valentine. Yuffie fought back the urge to scream at the girl each time she would say such things. Vincent wouldn't have just left them this way without so much as a word. Vincent wouldn't have put her through this hell of not knowing. He wouldn't have wanted this dull ache to settle in her chest at the thought of never being able to see him again.

Yuffie went through her day much the same as she always did, eating breakfast with Marlene and Denzel before chasing them back upstairs to color and play in their room until lunch. Lunch was an ordeal, with the entire Avalanche crew ceasing their search efforts and returning to the bar to eat. Yuffie knew they talked about her while they were out, wondered why she was taking this so hard. She couldn't blame them – she would have found her behavior ridiculous as well if she hadn't been there.

Things were calmer after lunch, when everyone had separated into search parties and returned to the mission of finding him. She was left alone again with Tifa and the children, who didn't give her any strange sideways glances or whisper about the breakdown that she appeared to be having. Tifa was concerned, but she was concerned in her own way. She would slide Yuffie an extra helping of food; make sure her glass was always full. Marlene and Denzel seemed to understand the efforts Tifa was taking, and mimicked them in their own ways, like offering her the best crayons to color with or letting her choose which pieces she wanted to be when they would play games. She appreciated it.

But slowly the light outside would dim, as would her spirit. Tifa would turn on the lights outside the bar, and customers would trickle in. Yuffie had taken to helping out around the bar at night while she stayed with Cloud and Tifa. The customers treated her well, seeming to understand that everyone working in the bar had just been through an ordeal that had saved their lives. Yuffie came to almost enjoy the late-night work, since it gave her an excuse to stay up instead of sleeping. It was inevitable though – two in the morning would come sooner than later, and the door to the bar would lock behind the last customer.

Yuffie would drag out her cleaning duties, making sure everything was in perfect condition before she solemnly mounted the stairs to go up to the guest room she had been staying in. She would change into clean shorts and a tank top before clicking off the light beside the bed and settling in to rest. Eventually, sleep would set in, and inevitably, her nightmares would return.

Tonight was no different. She had climbed into bed at three in the morning and laid her head down against the pillows. She remembered rolling over several times before finally dozing off into an uncomfortable sleep. Within minutes, it seemed, her nightmare began. The same black emptiness surrounded her, threatening to consume her. And then there he was. He stood tall, standing out against the backdrop of the darkness, his metal claw gleaming as if struck by an invisible light.

"Vincent," she cried out in anguish, reaching for him. And suddenly her dream changed. Something new?

He walked closer to her, extending his claw-covered hand down to her. "Yuffie," he replied. His voice was just as she remembered it – deep and smooth with a slight edge to it. She reached out to meet his hand…and reached straight through it.

She let out a frustrated cry, realizing that she was once again trapped in this dream world, all alone. Vincent had disappeared, and in every direction she could see nothing but blackness. Yuffie curled into herself, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them to stay rooted in place. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, though her sobs made no sound. Back to the same old dream once again, it seemed.

And then the weight of a hand pressed against her shoulder. She looked up to find a concerned Vincent staring down at her. The blackness around her slowly peeled back, giving way to the wallpaper-covered walls of her guest room. Vincent was still standing there, a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You were having a nightmare," he said softly. He went to remove his hand from her shoulder, only to have her grab for it. She could see his lips rise in a smirk over the collar of his cape.

She held onto his claw-covered hand in silence, letting her fingers roam the metal of his claw, as if to convince herself that he was indeed real. Yuffie lifted her gaze to meet his before giving his arm a sharp yank that loosened his footing and pulled him down on top of her.

"Hn," he groaned as his knees connected with the side of the bed. Yuffie moved to the side to give him space to lie next to her, which he grudgingly did after she prompted him by lightly patting the space.

"You're real," she said softly after rolling onto her side to marvel at him. It was almost as she had imagined it many times before – that he would be the one to touch her and pull her from the darkness yet again. Vincent nodded, and his eyes went wide as she tossed an arm over his stomach and laid her head down to rest against him.

Vincent didn't say anything as she closed her eyes once more, but stayed lying still beside her. Her breathing slowed as she curled against him, but her hand still held on to his tightly. "Don't leave me again," she murmured sleepily.

He smiled and dropped a light kiss to her forehead as she drifted off to a more fitful sleep, no longer alone in her nightmare. At some point in the night, he too dozed off and slept, still holding onto her in case her bad dreams returned.

Cloud customarily poked his head into the room around six on his way downstairs, pausing in amusement as he found Yuffie wrapped up in Vincent's arms on the thin, twin-size bed in the guest room. Upon hearing the door open, Vincent opened his eyes, letting one hand drop down to rest on the holster on his thigh.

"Welcome home," Cloud said softly. "She missed you."

Vincent replied with a nod, letting his arms come back up to wrap around Yuffie, this time a little tighter. It seemed as though the young ninja had indeed missed him, almost as much as he had missed her. He sighed deeply as Cloud closed the door once again, leaving him alone with the younger girl.

"Missed you," he whispered against her hair as he pressed another kiss there.

Yuffie stirred against him, curling into his embrace as tightly as she could. "Love you," she replied, clearly still asleep.

He smiled upon hearing it, suddenly glad that he had chosen to return to the bar to see everyone – to see her. Perhaps it would be her touch that would bring him back to the light this time.


	11. Facebook

**Facebook

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** This is a result of the requests I asked for. So this one's dedicated to you, WhiteFire56. Enjoy! Also, I won't be posting anything new until at least the 9th or 10th. The internet is out for upgrades in my building until then, and I have practical exams this Friday and Saturday for my police position.

**Disclaimer: **The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Yuffie was perched on a chair at the desk in the corner of her living room with a blanket wrapped around her legs as she tapped away on the keyboard while clicking through her friends' profiles. It was a mindless activity, but it gave her a chance to get in touch with people she hadn't seen in a while.

'_Hey girl, come by Edge next month for my birthday. Everybody's going out and you know Tifa and I don't like getting schwasted and dancing on bars without you! - Yuffie xoxo,' _she wrote on Elena's wall. Not a minute later, a red box popped up in the corner of the screen to notify her of something new. Yuffie clicked it to find that Reno had liked her post.

"Ewwwwww," she said aloud as she made her way back to the main page. Vincent looked over with mild interest from his position on the couch, but didn't say anything. He was spending the evening reading, and didn't mind that Yuffie was enamored with the computer screen at the moment, since it gave him an extra hour or so of relative silence to enjoy the book he had bought yesterday.

Yuffie scrolled down the main page that was her news feed. Reeve had written something on Barret's wall about going to visit him in Corel next week. Rude had just uploaded about a hundred pictures from the Turks vacation to Costa del Sol, most of which featured Reno drunk in his Speedo, posing in various locations around town.

She continued scrolling downward until something caught her eye - something big and red and important. "Oh my Gods!" She exclaimed as she nearly toppled from the chair in her excitement. She steadied herself before squealing again and frantically clicking the 'Like' button.

"Are you okay? What are you looking at?" Vincent asked as he set his book down and walked over to stand behind her. He hoped it wasn't that two girls, one cup video again.

"Cloud and Tifa are engaged!" Yuffie yelled, turning slightly to hug Vincent around the middle before pointing at the screen.

Vincent leaned in, squinting to read the small text. Sure enough, in the middle of the screen where Yuffie was pointing, it read _'Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart are now engaged'_, right next to a big, red heart. Vincent scowled. "What is this? How do you know it's true?"

"Vinnie, it's on Facebook, of course it's true!" Yuffie replied as she began typing out an excited reply to the news.

"Facebook?" Vincent asked, clearly confused.

Yuffie scrolled up to the top of the page and pointed at the blue and white banner. "Yeah, Facebook. You should get one."

"No thanks," Vincent replied as he turned around to go lounge on the couch with his book. Yuffie was quiet for a moment before looking over at him with her bottom lip quivering. He sighed, setting the book down again. "What is it now?"

"You should make a Facebook so I can say who I'm in a relationship with," Yuffie replied. "Or at least so I can say who it's complicated with. They should really give you a space to write why it's so complicated. You and I would have the best one ever."

Vincent sighed and stood up again, walking over to the dining room to get an extra chair before returning and sitting next to her at the computer. He was a sucker for Yuffie's sad face. "What do we have to do?"

Yuffie squealed as she clicked the logout button and began typing Vincent's name and e-mail address into the form to create a new account. She paused on the birthday. "Vinnie, can we hide your birthday on your profile? I don't want anyone thinking I'm sleeping with an old man."

"Fine," Vincent said, glaring at the old man comment. She knew he was sensitive about his age.

Within a minute, the account was made and Vincent was clicking the activation link in his e-mail. Yuffie then took over the controls again and quickly began filling in his profile.

"Let's add you to the WRO network so you can find people from work easier. Now, you're a moderate, you like classical music. Your interests include reading, firearms, and underage girls from Wutai," Yuffie said as she typed into each of the fields.

Vincent reached a hand over and hit the backspace key, erasing 'underage girls from Wutai' from the interests field. Yuffie smiled before kissing him on the cheek. "Well, it was _almost_ true. At least the first time anyway. Hmmm, do we have any pictures of you on here?"

She searched the pictures folder of the computer for a moment before finding a suitable picture of him. He had his cape on, staring away from the camera in typical broody Vincent fashion. Yuffie uploaded it before moving on to the task of finding him some friends.

"Okay, now we'll add everyone from Avalanche. Everyone's on here except you and Red. But he doesn't have any thumbs. I don't know what your excuse was," she yammered as she clicked 'Add to Friends' on Tifa's profile. "Okay, and we'll add the Turkeys and Rufus, oh and Shelke."

Yuffie then logged him out and logged back into her own account, where she accepted his friend request. She then went under the menu to edit her profile, where she added his name to the 'In a Relationship With…' field. Switching back again, she accepted the request.

"There! You're all set up. We just have to wait for everyone to accept your friend requests and then you're in business!" Yuffie said excitedly, drawing him into another sideways hug and planting a kiss on his lips.

Vincent didn't look nearly as excited, but he vowed to log on to the thing at least once in a while to keep Yuffie happy. He supposed it would be nice to have another means of communication besides the phone, which he didn't bother answering most of the time anyway.

* * *

_Three Weeks Later…_

Yuffie walked into the dining room, setting her armful of groceries on the table before turning around to go get more. "Vince! Can you give me a hand with the food?"

No answer.

Yuffie huffed before walking back out to the car. Maybe he wasn't home. She had left three hours ago to go see Tifa to help her pick out a wedding dress, and she had stopped for groceries before coming home. Vincent had been there when she'd left, playing some game on Facebook while he lounged around the house in his underwear. Ah, the joys of being a WRO contract and not a full-timer.

After retrieving the rest of the groceries, Yuffie walked back in and began putting them away. A soft clicking sound from the living room caught her attention and she paused her unpacking to go investigate. Once she walked into the living room, she couldn't believe her eyes. Vincent was still seated at the computer, still in his underwear, staring at what appeared to be a little farm that took up the whole screen.

"Vincent! I wanted some help with the groceries," she complained before walking over to stand behind his chair. "What are you even doing?"

Vincent looked up at her as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm planting raspberries and milking the cows so I can get enough coins to buy a tractor."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yuffie demanded as she threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Farmville," Vincent replied. "You make a little farmer, and then you grow vegetables and things on your farm to get coins, which you can use to get a bigger farm and more vegetables. Or a tractor, which is what I'm saving for. It's on Facebook; you should play and be my neighbor."

Yuffie shook her head before backing out of the room, suddenly quite concerned about the monster she'd created. As she resumed her task of putting the groceries away, she pulled out her cell to dial Tifa's number.

"Hey, Yuffie," Tifa answered after two rings. "What's up?"

"Teef," Yuffie whispered. "I'm going to text you tonight before we go to bed. I need you to deactivate Vincent's Facebook. He's addicted."

As Tifa agreed to perform the task Yuffie asked of her, Vincent continued to sit in the living room, drooling slightly as he clicked on tiny brown patches of dirt on the screen so that his farmer would begin planting a new row of raspberries. Only 14,753 more coins left until he was the proud owner of a pixilated, red tractor.


	12. Hush

**Hush

* * *

**

**Author's Note: **To celebrate my perfect score on my written and practical exams for my probationary police position, you get a new chapter! Just another take on Vincent's return after Omega.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

Vincent's whole body ached. He supposed that was what he deserved, for heading to the cave right after the battle and sitting in the same position for days. Shelke had come for him at everyone else's behest, though she hadn't returned with him. Instead, she had waved once he climbed down from the cliff with her and began walking off in the direction of Cosmo Canyon. Apparently Red had promised her a bed there, and she was excited to go and see new things.

So he had made the trek back to Edge by himself, trying not to think too much for once. The walk back was especially lonesome without Chaos there to heckle him and goad him forward. It also took much longer without the demon's wings to aid him in his trip. Nevertheless, he reached the city in a few hours time and found himself wandering down the street to a vaguely familiar house.

It was a place he had only been once before, after the Kadaj incident. Tifa had been apologizing – with everyone in town for the night they just didn't have enough beds to sleep everyone in the house comfortably. Yuffie had jumped in, reminding Tifa that her house was only a short walk away. And so he had let her lead the way, yammering nonstop, all the way there.

It was a quiet place, muted in color like most of the homes in Edge. They had gone in through the attached garage since she had forgotten her keys (which was apparently a habit of hers) and she had given him the grand tour. The entry hallway walls were decorated with pictures from their travels, probably given to her by Tifa. Down the hall, the entry split to the right leading to the living room, where he would be sleeping. For whatever reason, Yuffie owned a television that was larger than she was. It was mounted on the center of the wall, flanked on either side by two tall bookshelves that held very few books. The large, U-shaped couch that took up most of the room looked comfortable enough.

Back into the hallway, but turning left this time led them into a small dining room. The table was clean – he doubted she had ever eaten a meal at it. The kitchen was attached. Most of the appliances were newer, and the countertops were made of some kind of dark stone. He doubted again that she did much cooking of her own, since Tifa's place was just a quick walk away. The view out back was nice. The sliding doors of the kitchen opened up to a small patio. A few steps down, and you were in the grass of the fenced-in backyard. No wonder Denzel and Marlene had been jealous that he was going to go stay at Yuffie's.

Her bedroom was on the other side of the kitchen, and it was by far the most comfortable-looking room in the house. Her bed was excessively large, covered in red sheets, and it was surprisingly made. He supposed she hadn't slept much in the last few days. She had pointed past the bed to another door, and told him that the only bathroom was in there should he need it.

The house was much the same now as it had been during his last visit. Thankful that she hadn't changed the key code for the garage door, he wandered into the house, taking a minute to remove his boots just outside the door to the rest of the house. Not much had changed on the inside either, save for a few recent additions to the collection of photographs on the walls – Denzel and Marlene's latest school pictures, a picture of Red with his cubs, and – he chuckled – a picture of the two of them at last year's Christmas party before all of the drinking games had begun.

Vincent walked down the hall, slowly starting to unclasp the various buckles that adorned his clothing. By the time he reached Yuffie's bedroom, all he had to do was toss his cape across the chair in the corner and slide off his pants and shirt. The only thing he neglected to remove was his headband before settling down between the smooth sheets of her bed. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillows.

* * *

Several hours later, Yuffie pushed open the front door, having actually remembered her keys for once. Everything was just as she'd left it. She just needed a good night of sleep before resuming the search for Vincent with everyone tomorrow.

She wandered down the hall, setting her bag of dirty laundry next to the bedroom door before going to the fridge and getting a quick drink of water. A blue light from the living room attracted her attention, and she walked over to examine it.

Apparently she had left the television on before she left three days ago. The news was on, the anchor red in the face as he described the search for Vincent Valentine, whose picture was on the right side of the screen above the caption 'MIA'. She scowled before roughly clicking it off and wandering back to her bedroom.

The lights were off and the shades were drawn, but even in the dark she could see that she was not alone in the room. Clothing littered the floor, tossed haphazardly down where its owner had dropped it. She clicked the light on, keeping a hand on her now unfastened conformer. The conformer quickly dropped to the floor with a thud when she saw who was asleep in her bed.

"Vince?" She asked softly. Surely this wasn't real – she must have been imagining it. Why would he have come here, of all places? She walked over to the bed, pausing along the way to examine the clothes he had left on her floor. They felt real enough. She sat down on the edge of the bed closest to him, reaching a tentative hand out to rest on his bare shoulder.

He was warm, breathing quietly. She gently stroked the hair back from his face. "Vince? Wake up."

His eyes opened slowly and he groaned, clearly confused. "I didn't think you'd be home."

"Nice to see you too," she whispered as she let a smile grace her features. "Are you okay? Hurt?"

"I'm fine, just tired," Vincent replied, rolling onto his back to look up at her, inadvertently letting the sheets fall down to about mid-chest. Her eyes immediately fell to the scars there, which upset her though she had seen them before. "I didn't think you'd be home. I just wanted someplace quiet to sleep."

Yuffie nodded, gently pulled the sheet up around him a little more. "Well, get some rest then. I'll be around. I'll wake you up before I get in bed later."

She stood up and watched as he closed his eyes once more. She then walked around the room, gathering the articles of clothing he had discarded and attempted to fold them. Once she was done, she laid everything on the chair in the corner and turned off the light, leaving Vincent alone to rest.

As soon as she had left the room and closed the door, she called Tifa. "He's back," she began, only letting a fraction of the emotion she felt creep into her voice. "He came here to get some sleep. Figured it'd be quieter than the bar."

"Probably right," Tifa replied. Back at Seventh Heaven, she was giving Cloud a thumbs-up across the bar. "Does he need anything? Clothes? Food? I know you don't keep too much around."

"Hmm, yeah, probably a good idea," Yuffie said in agreement. "Ask Cloud if he has anything Vince can borrow. They're around the same size. Food would be good too."

"Already working on it. We'll be over in twenty," Tifa replied. She was already sifting through the fridge to find suitable leftovers to take over.

Yuffie paused. "Tifa? Could you maybe only come with you and Cloud? Vince wanted quiet. I'm sure he wants to see everyone, but if he could just rest for tonight…"

As she trailed off, Tifa was nodding. "Sure, no problem. We'll see you soon."

At first she sat down at the dining room table, unsure of what exactly to do while she waited. All she wanted to do was go lay beside him, watch him breathe, and convince herself that he was really all right. Somehow she didn't think that fit in with Vincent's plan for peace and quiet.

She quietly grabbed her bag of dirty laundry and went into her room to fetch his clothes, deciding to get a head start on putting their lives back together. When Tifa and Cloud arrived shortly after, she was switching the laundry over to the dryer. Cloud's arms were laden with bags, which he was keen to put down as soon as he could.

Yuffie directed him into the living room while Tifa went to put the food in the fridge. Cloud opened the bags he had been carrying, showing her a small variety of clothing – t-shirts, jeans, shorts, sweats - just the basics to get Vincent through the next few days. Tifa wandered back into the room.

"Okay, so you've got leftover macaroni, chicken, a few pasta dishes, and a lot of rice," Tifa said, ticking off items on her fingers as she remembered them. "Cloud's got the clothes. And you know if you need anything, all you have to do is call. There's enough people at the bar that it's no big deal to send someone over with more food."

"Thanks. I think we'll be fine though. He's just exhausted," Yuffie said as she shrugged her shoulders.

Tifa nodded in understanding. "Can I see him before we head out? I won't wake him up."

Yuffie led the way over to her bedroom, cracking the door for Tifa. The older woman peeked in, a smile forming on her lips when she saw Vincent resting comfortably on the bed. She closed the door as quietly as she could and turned back to Yuffie and Cloud.

"Take care of him. You know how they get sometimes; when they really need help, but don't want to ask for it," Tifa said as she gestured with her eyes in Cloud's direction. "And seriously, call us if you need anything."

And with that, Yuffie was alone once again. She went through the clothes Cloud had brought over, thankful that they were all dark in color, doubting that Vincent would have worn them otherwise. As quietly as she could, she hauled the bags into her bedroom and emptied their contents into one of the empty drawers of her dresser. She knew she disliked living out of a suitcase, and she didn't know how long Vincent intended to stay. The least she could do was make him comfortable.

Yuffie dumped the bag in the closet before going to get the clean clothes out of the dryer. She went to the living room and began folding them, slowly. It was still early, and there was no way she'd be able to sleep yet.

Once the clothes were all folded, she returned to her room to put them away, being sure to lay Vincent's clothes on the chair with his cape. She figured that he would still prefer to wear them, even with all of the clothes Cloud had brought over. She turned around and looked at him for a moment, wondering if he was sleeping as soundly as he looked, or if he was pretending for her sake.

She sighed, quietly shucking her clothing off and changing into some running shorts and a tank-top to sleep in. There was no use trying to put it off – she wanted to be close to him, and she wanted to rest – the activities of the day finally catching up to her. She lifted the sheets, glad when she glimpsed a pair of black boxer briefs on him, and cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Vince?" She said softly, reaching a gentle hand over to rest on his shoulder again. "I'm getting in bed. Just wanted you to know so you didn't wake up and freak out."

He rolled over slightly to show he was listening after all. "Do you want me to go sleep on the couch?"

"No, stay here," she replied as she crawled under the covers. A scowl crossed her face for a moment as she tried to decide how to lay. She didn't want to be too close, but she didn't want it to seem like she was forcing herself to sleep as far away from him as possible. "You'll sleep better on a bed."

Vincent dropped the issue, rolling back onto his side. As he rolled, he let out a low moan and briefly sat up and stretched. Yuffie instinctively reached over for him.

"You okay?" She asked, concern evident on her features.

Vincent nodded, returning to his previous position. "Just sore, I think."

_Just do it_, she thought. In a single move, she slid close to him so that she was pressed gently against his back. She gave him a moment to question her, or outright rebuke her, but nothing came. Tentatively, she raised an arm and let it wrap over his side.

He immediately froze at the touch, but slowly relaxed against her. She mused later that he hadn't put up a fight because he was truly that tired. When his shoulders slumped and he let out a long sigh, she knew she had won. Yuffie pressed a light kiss to his shoulder, not bothering to wonder whether or not this was too intimate for him. After everything he had done for her, he deserved to be taken care of for once.

"Vinnie?" She said softly against his back. He turned his head slightly in acknowledgement, though he stayed silent this time. "I'm really glad you're home. And I'd really like it if you'd stay. I know—"

"Yuffie?" He asked suddenly. He rolled over halfway so that he was on his back and able to look at her. She stared at him, eyes giving away the worry that she felt. Had she crossed a line?

"Hush," he murmured. And with that, Vincent leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the mouth. It was quick – over before she had had the chance to react. When she opened her eyes again, he was smirking at her before rolling them back into their previous position.


	13. Anniversary

**Anniversary

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** I'm going to start writing a longer, chaptered story that incorporates a lot of the ideas I've touched on with these one-shots. Be looking for that to show up soon. I'm also wrapping my mind around the idea of writing a mild lemon for this collection… :: cue cricket noises ::

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

It happens completely at random, maybe once or twice a month. I'll come home from a mission to find him sprawled across my couch, eyes opening almost as soon as I enter the room. He'll give me a slight nod and then stand, revealing to me whatever on him needs fixing today. This time, it's a large series of gashes on the side of his stomach. Since Omega, he hasn't healed the same as he used to, and he's taken to coming to me to be fixed up. It's gotten to be such a routine that I had to give him a spare key to the house.

I took his hand and led him back to my bedroom, pushing him in the direction of the bed while I went into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. When I came back in the room, he was laid out on my bed, doing his best to unbuckle the numerous belts on his shirt and pants with shaky hands. I set the first aid kit down next to him before swatting his hands away and taking over the job of undressing him.

The first time we had done this dance was after Omega, when he had finally returned home. He had shown up at the bar around dusk, right after Tifa and Cloud had gone out to pick up dinner since no one felt like cooking. Though he hadn't been wounded in any way, it was more for my peace of mind that I made him let me look him over, slowly working my hands over his body while I had watched his face for any signs of discomfort. By the time Tifa and Cloud had returned, I had been convinced that he was indeed all right. That hadn't stopped me from curling up beside him in bed that night for the sole purpose of watching him breathe and further assuring myself that he was indeed real.

I stripped the shirt off of him slowly, watching him grimace when the bloodied cloth was pulled away from where it had settled and stuck to his skin. As soon as I looked back after tossing the shirt into the bathroom, his face was a perfect emotionless mask again. I started undoing the buckles on his pants, and gently pulled them down low on his hips so I could see the end of the deep cuts on his side.

Grabbing the first aid kit, I pulled out some alcohol swabs and began unwrapping them. I looked down at him and found him watching me, unspeaking.

"Vincent Valentine, we've got to stop meeting like this," I said as I sat down next to him, giving him a wink before lightly dabbing at the dried blood on his stomach with the swab. "People will start to talk."

He rested his claw-covered hand on my thigh and I swear I could see a smile on his face as I finished cleaning him off. The cuts weren't as deep as they looked – just long and ugly, marring the perfect skin along his ribs. I tossed the alcohol swabs aside and grabbed some gauze, tape, and anti-bacterial ointment. I was liberal with it, more liberal than he would like, but the lack of infections he's suffered probably has a lot to do with it. I squeezed out big globs of it, gently spreading it over and along the gashes with my fingertips.

I felt the fingertips of his claw tighten on my leg and then release. His eyes were closed then, leaving me unchecked as I finished my work. I tore off a long sheet of gauze and laid it over the cuts, hoping it would be long enough. I ripped another one and lay it over top before I taped it down with a single long line of tape, coupled with three shorter ones across. I let my hand rest on his stomach for a moment, signaling to him that I was done. His eyes didn't open.

I sat watching him for a moment, suddenly realizing that he had indeed fallen asleep. _Poor thing_, I thought as I reached my hand out to stroke his hair back from his face. I leaned down and kissed his forehead before pulling the sheets up around him and leaving him to rest.

The rest of my daily routine went by uninterrupted. I did some laundry, cleaned, and cooked dinner – though this time for two instead of one. By the time I went in to wake him up, he was already awake and going through my drawers. I stood in the doorway smirking as I watched him. He must have known I was standing there, because he quickly moved on to the next drawer before quietly saying, "I left clothes here last time."

I watched with interest as he pulled out a black t-shirt and pulled it over his head. I hadn't known that had been there. Probably a good thing, otherwise I would've taken to sleeping in it in his absence. Vincent's visits were infrequent at best, and seemed to always be _just_ long enough to make me miss him afterwards.

"Dinner's ready if you're hungry," I said as I walked out of the room. I heard him come out and passed him a plate of food as I carried my own to the table. He brought his over before going back to the kitchen to grab us both glasses of water.

We ate in silence, or at least he did, while I spent the time recapping everything he had missed in the last month while he was away doing whatever it was he got up to these days. I told him how Cloud had finally proposed, and how he and Tifa were getting around to setting dates for the wedding. I told him about how Denzel and Marlene had done on their last report cards, and the vacation they had just taken with Barret to Costa del Sol.

"When was the last time you took a vacation?" He interjected, quite suddenly.

I honestly had to think about it for a minute. In my mind, I justified my lack of vacationing with the fact that I was young, and that I should work while I still had the energy. "I don't think I've had one since before Omega."

"Hm," he replied. "You'll get burnt out, working so much."

I shook my head. "Maybe after the wedding. Tifa's freaking out; she'll need me around at least until that's passed."

He nodded, and I knew in that instant that he would hold me to it. Once we were finished, I took our dishes in and placed them in the sink, running hot water over them. Vincent followed me, standing behind me and gently wrapping his arms around my waist. I froze and pressed my back against his chest. It wasn't like him to be so forward.

"Vince?" I asked, turning my head back to look at him.

His lips met mine and for a moment, I wasn't sure if he'd meant for it to happen or was simply just standing too close, but I went with it, turning around and slowly wrapping my arms up around his neck and pulling him closer. The kiss only lasted for a moment, and then he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.

"Happy anniversary," he said softly before turning and walking back into the bedroom.

Anniversary? We weren't even together. I looked over at the calendar, wondering what exactly today was the anniversary of. And then I saw it. I could have slapped myself for not remembering. A year ago today, he had walked into Tifa's bar after a week of being missing in action following his battle with Omega. Exactly a year ago today was the first time we had ever kissed, and the first time I had told him I loved him.

It's funny how he remembers these things, but can't seem to remember to hit the 'answer' button on his phone when I call.


	14. Trust

**Trust

* * *

**

**Author's Note:** The mild lemon has been written and will be the next chapter I post, so stay tuned.

**Disclaimer: **The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

* * *

"You look like you've got a lot on your mind," a light voice said from off to my right. I was curled up on the big swing on the back patio at the bar, gently swinging back and forth as I stared off at the setting sun. I looked over and found Tifa standing at the back door of the bar. She let it close behind her as she padded over to where I sat. I moved my feet, making room for her – its not nice to make a pregnant lady stand while she talks to you.

_She looks so happy_, I thought as I dragged a hand through my hair. I don't know how she did it all. Keeping up with two young kids, running a bar, dealing with Cloud's antics, and being pregnant on top of it all? She was a much stronger woman than I was, to be sure. "Yeah, I do."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tifa asked, adjusting her position to make herself more comfortable. She was about seven months along in the pregnancy, and much better off than I would've been in that situation. I watched as she rested both hands on her stomach and interlaced her fingers.

"How did you know that everything was going to work out with Cloud?" I blurted out. She didn't look too surprised, instead giving me a reassuring smile before she spoke.

"I didn't," she began, and I felt myself crumble at her answer. "Sometimes you just have to take a risk and put some trust in the other person."

I couldn't think of a response, so I continued to stare out at the line of the fence in the backyard, watching as the sun disappeared over the treetops. It was hardest to feel all right at night, without him here.

"Is this about Vincent?" She asked softly. I couldn't bring myself to reply, but I think the lack of response was enough of an answer for her, because she continued. "You know he doesn't want to be away from you. It's just how he is. He needs his space every now and then. He's always been that way."

I felt a knot forming in my throat. "He went to the cave," I said softly as I leaned forward and dropped my face into my hands to gather the tears before they started falling.

Tifa leaned over and wrapped her arms around me, stroking my hair while I cried it out. I couldn't believe that I was crying over this right now, in front of her. Tifa had it so much worse than I did, and here she was listening to me complain about Vincent's issues.

"You know, I understand how hard it can be," she said softly as she patted my back. "Cloud used to disappear for days sometimes and go stay at Aeris's church, even after we got together. I used to get so upset about it. But it's just a part of him that I have to accept and live with if we're going to last. He's given up a lot of things to be here and make this work. The least I can do is try to understand his need to visit there."

"It's different now though. You guys are having a baby. You're stable," I said as I wiped my nose on the back of my hand. Tifa smirked but pretended not to notice. "Vincent and I…we've never talked about any of that. I don't even really know what we are, or how important she still is to him."

She had a soft smile on her face as she stood and began to make her way back into the bar. "He loves you, you know. Even if he doesn't say it a lot."

I was left alone with my thoughts again, though they now seemed a little easier to deal with, knowing that Tifa dealt with similar concerns and had trusted her heart enough to let herself have a child. I stayed outside long after the sun had gone down and into the night when the moon had risen high overhead. I was admiring the stars when I heard soft, sneaky footsteps walking in my direction along the side of the house.

I let him get close and watch me for a while before I addressed him without bothering to look over in his direction. "Take me home?"

He walked into my field of vision and nodded, offering me a hand. I climbed off the swing and drew him into a hug, breathing in the scent that I had missed so much for the past few days. He held onto me tightly and let his breath softly rustle my hair before pulling my chin up for a kiss.

After we said goodbye to Tifa and Cloud, we wandered down the street towards my place, or our place, hands interlocked. "How was your trip?" I asked softly as I stroked my thumb over the back of his hand.

"Good. I did what I needed to do," he replied cryptically. I didn't bother wondering what exactly he had had to do at that cave that was so important, until he stopped walking and our hands were no longer clasped.

He was standing under a street lamp, the pale yellow of the light casting a sickly glow on his skin. "What is it?" I asked as I walked back and stood facing him.

Vincent reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box before lowering himself down to one knee and reaching for my hand. "Marry me."

It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement. We both knew that if he were to ask, I would have said yes. No, this was a little different. It was a statement, and an incomplete one at that. What he should have said was, 'I'm free, you can marry me now'. But in typical Vincent fashion, he had removed the excess verbiage and cut straight to the point. Simply, marry me.

I took the box from his hand and quickly pulled him up to his feet. "Are you sure?" I asked softly. Not sure if he wanted to marry me, but sure that he was ready. This moment had been building for the three years, while all of our friends had gotten married and began having children around us. Was he truly ready to move on to that, the way everyone else had? Was he sure he was done with her?

"That was why I left," he replied as he nodded. He took a step closer and rested his hands on my arms. "I wanted to say my last goodbyes. So, marry me."

"Okay," I said as I finally opened the box. The ring was beautiful, simple yet elegant all at once. I slid it onto my finger and held it up, looking at it in the light. The light from the street lamp reflected off it, lighting up the cluster of diamonds along the top of the band. "You know this means you're stuck with me, right? Me, who can't cook to save my life and who won't ever make the bed."

He smiled – one of those genuine ones that most people will never see. "I guess I'll just have to suffer through it."

I let him take my hand as we resumed our walk towards home. It seemed as though I would be taking Tifa's advice after all. I didn't know exactly where this new adventure was going to lead us, but I trusted Vincent enough to want to take that plunge into the unknown with him. Wish me luck. I hope Godo doesn't yell too much.


	15. Untouched

**Untouched

* * *

**

**WARNING:** **Rated M for sexual content. If you are opposed to dry sex and fictional nudity, back out now.**

**Author's Note: **Every now and then I get ballsy and write something overtly sexual. This is one of those times. Use your discretion.

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content is property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever. I also did not invent sex, contrary to what you may have heard.

* * *

Yuffie sighed, casting a sideways glance in Vincent's direction where he lay sleeping beside her. He was wearing loose-fitting black pants to sleep in with no shirt. His headband was also off, for once. She, on the other hand, had thrown on what she considered to be her cutest lingerie as she had laid down next to him in the bed they had been sharing for the last six months.

Six sexless months, she wanted to add. Ever the gentleman, Vincent had done little more than kiss her over the last half of a year though they had been living in the same apartment and sharing a bed for most of that time. Every time they seemed to be in the optimal position for things to move forward, he faltered, leaving her untouched and unsatisfied while he went to relieve himself.

She knew he did it out of love. He had somehow gotten it in his head that she would appreciate it more if they waited, but all it was doing was making her more anxious. Every now and then, like tonight, she would go out of her way to try and force the matter by doing things that would make any grown man ache with desire. Enter in the cute lingerie.

He had already been dressed and in bed by the time she had walked in from her shower, dropping the towel that covered her body onto the floor. Vincent watched, completely immobile in their bed, as she bent down to pull her underwear out of the bottom drawer and slowly slide into them. She made sure to turn around and face him as she fastened her bra, leaving her chest exposed to him for a moment before she pulled the fabric up over her breasts. He had gulped and looked away, but to his credit, he stayed in bed.

Even when Yuffie had laid down beside him, pressed her backside against him and requested to be held, Vincent had held his ground. He wrapped an arm over her, leaving a good inch of space between them. Yuffie had pressed back against him, slowly caressing the area between his legs with her rear. It was at that point that he had given up, rolling onto his back again and leaving her lying beside him, suddenly undone.

At first, she was planning to let it go and not bring it up again. But after his breathing had slowed and came at a steady pace, she found herself livid. How was it that he was able to just fall asleep, when she was left like this? It was then that she decided to take matters more firmly into her own hands.

Yuffie rolled onto her stomach, looking over at Vincent to make sure he was really asleep. She slowly eased herself up onto her elbows before lifting her leg up to rest on the far side of his. Shifting her whole body, she brought herself up into a sitting position and then eased her weight down onto his groin while resting her hands on his pale stomach.

His eyes opened almost instantly and she was shocked that he didn't throw her off in surprise. Instead, he gazed up at her with a confused look on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Getting myself off," Yuffie declared as confidently as she could, letting her hips gently grind against him. Vincent looked up at her questioningly as she reached down and brought his hands up to rest on the top of her thighs. "You won't do it for me, so I'll just go ahead and do it myself."

"That's fine, but do you have to do it on top of me?" Vincent asked, clearly uncomfortable. Yuffie could feel him beginning to stiffen underneath her. _Good_, she thought as she rocked her hips back and forth again.

She leaned down and started to kiss along his jaw, raising her hips just slightly to give him the chance to get more comfortable before she continued. To her surprise, he groaned, quickly pulling her hips back against his where she felt the undeniable press of his erection. Yuffie smiled, leaning down to continue kissing him all the while rocking her hips slowly back and forth against him.

"Yuffie," Vincent began, his face reddening as she continued to stroke herself against him. "I can't, I don't—"

She silenced him with a kiss, stopping the motion of her hips for just a moment to reach down and take a hold of him through his pants. "Vince, relax. Just hold onto me and let me take care of you, okay?"

Vincent could scarcely reply as she stroked him, and instead brought his arms up to wrap around her as she once again began her deliberate movements against his aching manhood. Yuffie angled herself downward, leaning in to press kisses along his neckline while keeping the feel of his hardened member against her clit, where she so desperately needed it.

Somewhere along the way, he unhooked her bra and slid it down to the end of her arms before raising them himself in order to toss it aside. Now on slightly more equal footing, he slowly began to kiss all around her breasts, teasing before taking her left nipple into his mouth and softly sucking and biting it. One hand had found its way into the back of her panties and was cupping her backside while the other squeezed her right breast.

Yuffie found herself gasping as Vincent thrusted his hips up in time to meet hers, bringing her ever closer to climax. She met his eyes for a moment before resting her forehead against his as she continued to grind against him. In a move that would shock her for weeks after the fact, Vincent's right hand left her breast and snaked down her abdomen and the front of her panties to rest gently against her heat.

She froze. Vincent had seen her naked plenty of times, just as she had seen him. But he had never touched her there. Tonight was as close as she'd gotten to him in this way. He must have seen the worry in her eyes, because he stilled and rested the palm of his hand there while softly kissing her lips.

"You want to get off, so let me help," he murmured soothingly against her throat as he pressed another kiss there. Yuffie nodded, allowing him to roll them both so that she was on her back while he gently stroked his thumb in a tight circle against her clit.

"Vinnie," Yuffie said softly as she clung to him. She was close. She pulled his face down to hers in a kiss before making an additional request. "Please."

He smiled and nodded, continuing to softly kiss her lips as he caressed her. It didn't take long before she let out a soft moan and he felt her relax in his arms. Vincent leaned down against her, holding her as she slowly refocused and looked back up at him. "Remind me again why haven't we been doing this for the last six months?"

Vincent laughed, drawing her into another kiss. Feeling him pressed against her, still hard, Yuffie broke their kiss. "Let me take care of that for you."

Half an hour later, Vincent was lying on his back with an arm wrapped around Yuffie's sleeping form, pondering the question she had posed him with earlier. Why **hadn't** they been doing that for the last six months?

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**Author's Note:** I don't do stuff like this too often, so consider it a rare treat. Or don't, if you didn't like it.


	16. Lullaby

**Lullaby

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**

**Author's Note: **There is an abundance of super-cute fics featuring Vincent and Marlene, so I know I'm not the only one who thinks Vinnie would make good daddy material. I've got a couple more of these in the works, but this won't be getting updated as much while I work on "Crimson".

**Disclaimer:** The Final Fantasy series and all of its associated content are property of Square Enix. I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

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Tifa couldn't help but smile at the busyness that was her house these days. She didn't mind at all though. It made her happy, having a full house of people to look after. After the Omega incident, she had all but begged Vincent to visit more regularly, which he had agreed to. Every other weekend, Vincent would make the trip from Kalm and come over to the bar to stay with them.

He would spend the weekend helping Cloud organize deliveries, or helping Tifa around the bar. He spent a lot of time with Denzel as well, which made Tifa happy. Cloud was still here and there, and having Vincent around as a role model, even if only every other weekend, was something that Denzel needed. Regardless of all the time Vincent spent with the other members of the household, it was Marlene who truly captured his attention whenever he would come to stay.

The little girl would wrap her tiny arms around his legs the moment he walked through the door, excitedly yelling to let everyone know that _her_ Uncle Vincent was there. He would help her with her homework if she had any, and more often than not, they would wind up in the lounge behind the bar, curled up together in the reclining chair in the corner while Vincent read her whatever book she happened to bring to him.

It remained the same when he and Yuffie had moved in together, except she also began accompanying him on his bi-weekly visits. Tifa didn't mind in the slightest. It made the house busier, but it also reminded her of the days when they had all traveled together and the companionship that she had felt then.

It had been almost two years since Omega, a year and a half since Yuffie and Vincent had come out and been open with everyone about their being together. Tifa chuckled at the thought. She had known from the moment Vincent had returned that things would be different. He had looked lighter, freer – as if this battle had both literally and figuratively released him from the grasp of his demons. When Yuffie had bounded down the stairs and crashed into him, sending them both crashing to the floor with her on top, he had looked at her almost with new eyes.

While they had waited three months to move in together, and six to officially tell everyone that they were indeed together, Tifa had known in that very instant when Vincent's eyes had fallen on Yuffie and shown nothing but love. Now, almost two years later, his eyes still had that same look whenever she was around. It made Tifa happy to finally see him so at peace with the world, and himself. Yuffie seemed to finally be at peace with herself as well. After finding out that she was living and engaged in a romantic relationship with Vincent, Godo had disowned her. Tifa didn't think she had ever seen Yuffie smile wider than the day she had received that particular notice from the Wutai High Council.

Yuffie and Vincent had arrived for the weekend yesterday. Yuffie was currently out in the backyard with Denzel, attempting to teach him how to do a cartwheel, which is what he had asked her to help him with as soon as she had walked through the door the day before. They had been at it since lunchtime, which was several hours ago. Tifa wandered out back to check on them. Passing the lounge on her way out, she listened closely and heard the soft sound of Vincent humming a lullaby.

She walked out the door just in time to see Denzel finish off a perfect cartwheel. She clapped approvingly as Yuffie cheered him on. "Good job!"

Yuffie threw up a peace sign, grinning. "That's my boy! I told you we'd get it!"

"You guys want to come in and take a break?" Tifa asked as she smiled at both of them.

Yuffie nodded, giving her an appreciative look once Denzel's back had turned. Though she absolutely adored spending time with the kids, doing cartwheels out in the heat of the backyard for five hours would exhaust even the most hyperactive of ninjas. The group moved back into the air-conditioned house, Denzel in the lead.

As soon as Yuffie and Tifa were both in with the door closed, Denzel had turned around in the hallway and pressed his finger to his lips to quiet them.

"Shhhhh," he whispered, pointing with his other hand into the darkened lounge. Yuffie and Tifa walked over to look in.

On the big chair in the corner lay a sleeping Vincent, his arms wrapped loosely around an also sleeping Marlene. The little girl was snuggled against him as close as she could get with her head tucked underneath his chin. The book they had been reading was draped across the arm of the chair.

"Oh, that is too cute," Tifa said with a light laugh, taking out her phone to snap a quick picture of the pair. Who would have guessed that their mysterious gunman had such a soft spot for children? Denzel shook his head, leaving the pair to watch Vincent and Marlene sleep in silence. Yuffie was smiling, though it was a different kind of smile than Tifa usually saw her make. Softer.

"Have you two talked about kids yet?" Tifa asked quietly, looking over at the younger girl. Yuffie had grown up so much since Vincent had returned, making every effort to show everyone just how ready she was to move on to the next stage in her life. It only seemed natural to Tifa that the next step for them would involve having a child.

Yuffie looked down at the floor. "Not really. He told me once that he doesn't think he can have any. You know, all the experiments."

"That's unfortunate," Tifa replied, frowning. "He's so good with Marlene. He'd be a wonderful father."

"Well, he was also wrong," Yuffie said suddenly, looking up at Tifa with a slight grin on her face. "The doctor says I should start showing in about a month."

Tifa's jaw dropped as Yuffie's words finally clicked. "What?! When? Oh my Gods!"

"Shhhhhh," Yuffie said, pointing into the lounge. "I'm almost two months along. Went to the doctor's two weeks ago. I'm due in December."

"Does Vincent know?" Tifa asked, wondering just when Yuffie had been planning to make that announcement to the rest of their motley crew.

Yuffie shook her head. "No. I was going to tell him when we got home this weekend. Figured he needed some time to get used to it on his own before we told everyone else."

Tifa smiled, looking in at the older man in the lounge. He would be overjoyed at the knowledge that he was going to be a father. After living a life so marred by tragedy, Vincent deserved every bit of happiness that came his way. Tifa reached over, taking Yuffie by the arm.

"Let's go up to the attic and see if we've still got any of Marlene's baby clothes up there," she suggested, pulling the younger woman down the hall.

In the lounge, Vincent let a slight smile grace his features. It had taken every ounce of his strength not to jump up out of the chair and spin Yuffie around in excitement. A child. He sighed deeply, reaching down to move a strand of hair out of Marlene's face. The little girl's eyes opened, and she looked up at him with a smile.

"Uncle Vincent, what're you smiling about?" She asked as she looked up at him.

"Life," he replied, letting his hand soothingly stroke her small back as she closed her eyes again. He resumed humming a soft lullaby that he remembered from his own childhood before he too drifted off to sleep again, dreaming of his future.


End file.
